Futures traders have record sums riding on the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s November policy meeting. In CME Group Inc.’s federal funds futures market — used to wager on monthly average levels of the interest rate the US central bank sets a target range for — open interest in the November contract soared Wednesday. Defined as the number of contracts in which traders have long or short positions, open interest climbed to nearly 600,000, the most in the market’s three-decade history. The record number represents $25 million at risk per basis-point change in the rate. While long and short positions in futures are ... (full story)